1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to optics and fine mechanics, and more particularly to an easily cleaned honeycomb table.
2. Description of the Related Art
Honeycomb tabletops are typically used for supporting and positioning highly sensitive scientific equipment, such as optical devices. Such systems generally include an upper skin, a lower skin, a honeycomb core, and a connecting side wall. The upper skin is typically provided with a plurality of tapped holes which are used for mounting equipment upon the tabletop surface. The honeycomb core maintains the structure rigidity and flatness of the upper skin to minimize displacement of the devices relative to one another.
Unfortunately, the tapped holes in the upper skin provide access to the cells of the honeycomb core in the interior of the table. Thus liquid or other debris spilled upon the table surface may enter the interior. Due to the boned structure of the honeycomb and the complexity of the interior structure, such spills are difficult and impractical to clean. At last, the tabletop cannot satisfy the needs of usage and contaminate clean rooms.
Various methods of construction are known to solve these problems. Specifically, in China, ZL200510112023 discloses a solution to add tubes in honeycomb cores. The shortcoming of this method adds the honeycomb table weight highly.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,621,006 discloses a tabletop design in which a sealing sheet is positioned between a first distance honeycomb core portion adjoining the lower layer and a second distance several times honeycomb core portion adjoining the upper skin. The second distance is several times of the mentioned first distance, so that the honeycomb core portion adjoining the lower layer is sealed off by the sealing sheet, only a smaller distance honeycomb core portion need be cleaned.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,645,171 discloses a honeycomb optical table wherein each hole in the top surface is sealed off from interior of the honeycomb cells by a cavity enclosure which is secured to the underside of the top skin in registration with each hole. The cavity enclosures prevent residue and contaminant from passing to the interior of the honeycomb core. As a result, cleanup can be effectively accomplished by wiping the table surface and using suction the small enclosure.
In U.S. Pat. No. 4,853,065 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,021,282, the use of a sealing sheet with projections corresponding in number and location to apertures in the table leavers and projecting into cells of honeycomb cores for a distance being several times smaller than the depth of such cores. It provides means of sealing the holes of the upper layer from the honeycomb core.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,061,541 discloses a honeycomb optical table wherein at least a layer of rigid corrugated material including valleys and crests, the internal stiffening sheet, the drilled and tapped bar, and the series of connected cups to seal off from interior of the honeycomb cells which is secured to the underside of the top skin. The longitudinal axes of the crests and valleys of the rigid corrugated material are aligned generally parallel to the both facing sheets and perpendicular to the longitudinal axes of the cells of honeycomb core.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,402,734 discloses a honeycomb optical table in which a number of cups are positioned between the bottom layer and the top layer, and at least some of the number of cups are sized and shaped to cooperate with the lower face of the top layer to form a cavity surrounding at least two of the plurality of holes in the top layer so that contaminants are unable to pass through the surrounded holes into the honeycomb core.
Another optical table is provided in U.S. Pat. No. 7,739,962, in which many tubes are positioned between the interior of upper and lower skins to connect the holes on the both skins so that contaminants and residue are unable to enter the interior of the honeycomb core.
Although above-mentioned varying levels of effectiveness in containing the contaminants and spills easily, and isolating from residue or contaminants entering the interior of the tabletop, few existing design appears to adequately address the need of easy and thorough cleaning of the portion of the tabletop exposed to the tapped holes. If any, the tabletop will lose weight. In this invention, a honeycomb table is disclosed with an easily clean structure by using downwards tread of object in field of gravity. Spillage, contaminants, and residue can be more easily get out by the holes of lower skin or collect in the cup above the holes.